The 4 Cs all play important roles in a diamond’s overall appearance. Color is most important for color diamonds and clarity has a high priority when it comes to colorless diamonds. Though color diamonds can be far more forgiving in terms of various imperfections due to their camouflaging nature, it is still crucial for a diamond to have as few flaws as possible.
The Definition of Clarity
The term clarity refers to the internal and external inclusions that a diamond may have, in comparison to how the diamond looks as a whole. In order to make sense of the different types of imperfections and their implications, there is a clarity grading scale. This scale includes the different clarity levels and what they mean.
Various Inclusions and their Effects
Ideally, one would like a diamond to be 100% perfect. Unfortunately, such a diamond does not really exist. Diamonds, at least natural diamonds, have been created under impossible conditions and like anything natural, have different types of marks, chips, and other flaws that may deem them less valuable. However, not all flaws are so significant, and those that are can be in places that are less noticeable. Inclusions are broken down into internal and external flaws. Some internal flaws are very noticeable while others are not. The same goes for external flaws. It all depends on the inclusions, the diamond, its shape, cut, size, and color. Some types of inclusions are: crystal, feather, needle, cavity, indented natural, natural, extra facet, cloud, and chip. The lowest level of diamonds in terms of clarity, I1/I2/I3 (P1/P2/P3) diamonds, have inclusions that are visible to the naked eye. Aside from these diamonds, stones with flaws can in fact work in one’s favor, as their prices will be significantly reduced, but the flaws will not necessarily be noticeable.
Natural and Artificial Clarity Improvement
Though imperfections are not always an issue, they can be. While sometimes a stone may not be worth saving, other times it is. Deciding whether or not to bring a diamond back to the polishing wheel in hopes of improving its clarity is tough, but it can have a fantastic outcome. It could also take off a great deal of the diamond’s clarity weight and possibly even damage it. However, in life, risks need to be taken from time to time. All in all, even a if a diamond loses a whole carat but significantly improves its clarity, it can be worth attempting to polish away the blemishes. In addition to “naturally” trying to improve a stone’s clarity, it is also possible to enhance a diamond’s clarity through artificial processes. These include Laser Drilling and Fracture Filling. Though these procedures are acceptable, it must be mentioned in the diamond’s certificate and made aware to the buyer before purchasing.
